Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shredders for destroying articles, such as documents, compact discs, etc.
Description of Related Art
Shredders are well known devices for destroying articles, such as documents, compact discs (“CDs”), expired credit cards, etc. Typically, users purchase shredders to destroy sensitive articles, such as credit card statements with account information, documents containing company trade secrets, etc.
A common type of shredder has a shredder mechanism contained within a housing that is removably mounted atop a container. The shredder mechanism typically has a series of cutter elements that shred articles fed therein and discharge the shredded articles downwardly into the container. The shredder typically has a stated capacity, such as the number of sheets of paper (typically of 20 lb. weight) that may be shredded at one time; however, the feed throat of a typical shredder can receive more sheets of paper than the stated capacity. A common frustration of users of shredders is to feed too many papers into the feed throat, only to have the shredder jam after it has started to shred the papers. To free the shredder of the papers, the user typically reverses the direction of rotation of the cutter elements via a switch until the papers become free.
In addition, shredders that are subjected to a lot of use should have periodic maintenance done to them. For example, the cutter elements may become dull over time. It has been found that lubricating the cutter elements may improve the performance of cutter elements, particularly if the shredder is used constantly over a long period of time.
The present invention endeavors to provide various improvements over known shredders.